Social casino users decline but hardcore players spending more

New data suggests the social casino market is hemorrhaging users but hardcore users are playing and spending more than ever.

According to market researchers SuperData’s new Social Casino Metrics Industry Trend Analyses report, the number of monthly active players declined 13% in 2015. However, SuperData claims the players that remain have “never been more engaged” and are spending more than ever.

A double-digit drop in casual players isn’t necessary a death knell for the social casino industry. As far back as 2012, Zynga was reportedly earning 70% of its non-advertising revenue from just 0.5% of its users, while more recent data showed that 0.23% of mobile game players accounted for roughly two-thirds of in-app revenue.

SuperData said the top-10 social casino publishers now controll 81% of the market, up from 69% two years ago. SuperData analyst Carter Rogers told iGaming Business that large publishers would continue to increase their control of this market in part because they had more to spend on customer acquisition.